How to Build a Category Leader When No One Sees the Problem

Intro 00:01
Welcome to Startup Success, the podcast for startup founders and investors. Here you’ll find stories of success from others in the trenches as they work to scale some of the fastest-growing startups in the world. Stories that will help you in your own journey. Startup Success starts now.

Kate 00:18
Welcome to Startup Success. In this episode, I sit down with Kameale Terry, co-founder and CEO of ChargerHelp, a $30 million Series A stage startup tackling one of the biggest challenges in the electric vehicle industry: keeping charging stations reliable and operational. We’ve all experienced that. We explore how Kameale built a new category around EV charger maintenance, why workforce development is critical to the clean energy transition, and what it takes to scale a climate tech company at the intersection of software, hardware, and infrastructure. We also discuss fundraising and how technology and AI are transforming the reliability of systems powering the next generation of transportation. So, thanks again for being here today.

Kameale Terry 01:20
Thanks for having me.

Kate 01:21
Yes, I’m looking forward to this. It’s such an amazing concept what you’re doing. But before we get into ChargerHelp, if you wouldn’t mind kind of setting the stage and walking us through a quick overview of your background and then what led to the founding.

Kameale Terry 01:37
Sure. Really, the background of ChargerHelp came from me working at a software company where we made software for charging stations. At this company, I, one, got really excited about charging infrastructure and the possibility of having cleaner, greener transportation and the coolness of innovation in data.

Kate 01:56
Yeah.

Kameale Terry 01:57
But I did see that there was this disconnect when it came down to the ongoing reliability of these assets, oftentimes charging infrastructure is a manys of manys software integration. So it’s many different software providers coming together in order to essentially allow electrons to leave the grid and enter into a vehicle. And I was finding out because there were so many companies involved, oftentimes there was this lack of really the buck stopping somewhere when it came to if these assets weren’t working. And so that sparked the interest of me starting ChargerHelp back in January of 2020, which is a wild time to start a company. And yeah, that’s where the ride started.

Kate 02:38
Wow. Okay. So the problem that you described, I understand, very complex. You had to have a lot of courage to leave what you were doing to start this because this is no easy feat. I mean, walk us through like what motivated you, inspired you to take that leap of faith to leave like your paying job to do this, found this.

Kameale Terry 03:06
Yeah, my parents are immigrants. I’m first generation American. My dad started his own business when he was 22. His business was fixing computer networking systems for a lot of the doctors in Los Angeles. And so I grew up around an entrepreneur, and so I’ve always been fascinated in building. And so when I saw that there was an opportunity to really be helpful, and that I had a unique perspective, I believe that is probably what gave me the liquid courage to take on this venture. And the coolest part is that my first customer was the company I worked for, so that was also very validating as well.

Kate 03:41
That is super validating. So when you gave notice and explained to them what you were doing, they must have been really excited.

Kameale Terry 03:48
So when I gave notice, more so, what I was looking at doing was starting a company that did workforce development, that could get people to the charging stations to fix them. And so yes, that was very exciting. What I discovered, though, simply getting a person onsite was not solving the problem, and there were a lot of things in between that human getting on site that needed to be solved for. And so I would say that by us doing the work of field service, we really grew into the technology company that we are today because we were able to see the major gaps that existed in the industry. So it’s been an evolution, but yes, there was a lot of excitement. I had an inkling of what I wanted to build, but I really didn’t fully understand it until I started to build.

Kate 04:34
I really appreciate you sharing that and being candid about that because I hear that a lot from successful founders. It’s an evolution. Like you start with an idea, and then it transforms. And so your first idea was like the workforce automation part. And then the software and technology issues came up as you were tackling that first initial problem.

Kameale Terry 04:59
I was better able to articulate what I was trying to solve. So, like, I always knew that you needed more data. I always knew that the software wasn’t always that clear, but did I know that gathering 300 million you know unique data points would be very helpful? Did I know that I should integrate with nine different CMS systems because that would be helpful? Like I didn’t know those things. I just knew like data people we should solve this problem.

Kate 05:30
Got it. Got it. That makes sense. So tell us about ChargerHelp. Like, walk us through what you’re doing right now and where you are. And I should say, congratulations. You’ve also had a very successful fundraising too. So you’ve really been validated, not just by customers, but also by the you know investor community, which is huge. So, congrats!

Kameale Terry 05:53
Thank you so much. Yes, I would say that ChargerHelp to me is what really what the the future of innovation and automation in the built environment will look like. You know, as we bring software into the built environment, so meaning that you have these various software systems controlling physical assets. So you have software now literally controlling vehicles. You have software now controlling the dispensation of energy from the grid. Everything is becoming connected to a cloud. And so at ChargerHelp, what we are interested in is that what happens when those connections fail. And then if each software partner is doing their part, but maybe can’t see what their other partner is doing outside of how they integrate, how can you really get down to root cause analysis? And this is what we saw in charging as like a microcosm: is that oftentimes the most complex problems was essentially a needle in a haystack, really like underneath so much firmware updates or this integration or that integration. And it wasn’t like oh that behavior is happening, it must be because this configuration is off. It just didn’t exist. And what you know what we talk a lot about is that you know with these types of assets that the field is the lab, right? Like you can test everything you want, you know, at your nice facility, in your controlled environment. But once you start deploying these assets, you start doing firmware updates, new technology enters into the market, you have different folks utilizing these assets in different ways. You now introduce different use cases that you did not solve for, and so like a company like ChargerHelp, what we are excited to be is a partner to folks that are enabling this type of technology. We not only say, hey, we will not only underwrite the reliability, so we sell a product called reliability as a service, where we’re underwriting like the performance of that asset will also give you that data back, so you can build smarter and better. And to me, that is something I’m just so proud about.

Kate 07:56
Wow, as you should be. I mean, no wonder why they want to work with you. That’s a pretty big, you know, advantage that you’re bringing to them.

Kameale Terry 08:07
Thank you so much.

Kate 08:08
Yeah. So, what have you learned, like as you’ve scaled this? if you wouldn’t mind, because the founders listening always love to hear about other challenges that founders have, you know, found along the way and how they’ve, you know, come back from them.

Kameale Terry 08:22
Yes, I would say there’s probably you know three core lessons, but I would say the biggest lesson as a founder is really trusting your gut. When I started ChargerHelp, there was not a lot of funding in charging. Right, we were starting in January 2020. We were underneath a different administration than you know the Biden administration. There were a lot of naysayers. I remember getting on the phone with the founder and them telling me, well, charging stations don’t break. You’re just wasting your time. And I just remember, like, no, like they do break, and they break like this and this and like I just remember coming off of that call and my mom was alive then and just like crying because I had thought like, Well, maybe like maybe what I’m seeing is like wrong and and maybe I’m confused, and it may be like this person is right. And my mom was just like, just trust your gut, like keep going. Fast forward two years, that same founder was one of my customers, a huge advocate. And so I would just tell founders, even if it feels crazy or even if it feels uncomfortable, and even if there’s naysayers, try anyway. And just try to really understand your problem, and most importantly, get connected with people who are experiencing your problem. And that’s what we started to do early on, even in our sales cycle, we actually stopped really entertaining folks that oh, they’re going to install stations later on. And I was like this is too hard of a sale. You don’t really get it. You don’t believe charging stations fail. I’ll see you in two years.

Kate 9:51
That makes a lot of sense.

Kameale Terry 9:53
Yeah, let me talk to people that are that are having the pain.So I would say number one, listen to your gut. Number two, find your customers early and really sit in it with them. Really understand like what is the cranky parts of what they have to deal with. And see if you can build for that. And then the third piece that I would really push founders to do is that really, really lean into your story. At the end of the day, as a founder, we are inherently alchemists, right? Like we are building things out of nothing. And the way to do that well is that you have to be able to deliver a story that resonates with folks and that helps them to actually see how clear this opportunity actually is. So those would be the three pieces of learning lessons I would pass on.

Kate 10:37
Those are great. We literally just had someone on here on our last show talking about the importance of storytelling. How it sounds cheesy, but if you have your story, it helps you with building a customer culture. You know, finding customers and fundraising. Did you find that like you were so clear on your passion and what you were doing?

Kameale Terry 10:57
It took time. You know, when I first started the company, yeah, we. You know, we used to pitch. I pitched like almost. I remember my first pitch. It was so bad, and I remember listening to this lady. I was like, Oh my gosh! Like everything she sounds like is so great. Like I want to give her money. But I’m like stuttering. I’m kind of like be being a you know being a subject matter expert. Subject matter expert. I can get in the weeds. I can you know, just things don’t really make sense to folks. And I’m like, why doesn’t this make sense to you? And so I had to keep doing it, had to get feedback, so much feedback. Oh my gosh! And then finally, I got better at it. So it’s definitely not like a thing that you just wake up one day and you have a story. I think it is something, you know, one of the things I used to do was record my Zoom. So I would just pitch myself, record it on Zoom. Listen to it back because sometimes you can like when people give you feedback on stuff, you would be like, oh yeah, I did do that. And so what I like to do is just record myself, look at myself, give myself feedback, try again, and then find trusted you know people to do it. But yes, I believe finding your story, but it’s not easy, and it has to be authentic, right? Like people can sniff out if you’re, especially in today’s age. Like people don’t like being sold stuff. People like if you’re solving a problem for them, right? And so you have to figure out that balance.

Kate 12:12
That makes a lot of sense. So you practiced. Did you have to do – and I get it, we hear this a lot with founders, you’re so technical, into the product, into the solution. You use all the jargon, and you, you know, your explanations are very deep, and it’s not always easy to follow. Did you have to work on that too?

Kameale Terry 12:32
Oh yeah, and yeah, and my co-founder, she’s not from charging; she was from workforce development, and so she would be the first one that would just be like, What does that mean? And I’d be like, you’re right. Like, you don’t know what OCPP means. Like, that doesn’t make any sense to you. That’s crazy. And then I’m like, it’s open charge point protocol. And she’d be like, but what does that mean? Yes, right. Okay. So I think having a co-founder, having someone that, because like you know, being a founder is so hard. And everybody wants to tell you everything about what they think you should do, but no one 1 understands your choices or 2 is in your position. So finding someone that isn’t going to try to like stifle you, but kind of understand where you’re coming from, be kind with you, and like help you. And you know, I think that’s also hard to find because everybody, I feel like everyone loves to tell somebody that owns a business what they can be doing better, and they themselves do not own a business.

Kate 13:30
That’s so true. How did you find your co-founder? Because so many people have a hard time with that.

Kameale Terry 13:39
I mean, honestly, I’m a woman of faith, so I feel like it was God because it was very random. Yeah, I was working, I was developing a curriculum at the LA Clean Tech Incubator, and then one of the colleagues there-they just mentioned, funny enough, I needed to like apply to something, and I just needed a co-founder. And I didn’t really know much about co-foundership at all, so looking back, I’m like, oh my gosh, like thank you, God. Yeah. And so they’re like, oh, you should just talk to this lady. Like I think she’ll be dope. And so I was like, okay, like do you want to be my co-founder? Like I just need to put you on this application. And I was like, it only be for I was like, what if you just do it for a year? You know, I was like, I already quit my job. I already do it full time. And so at first, she was like, No. She’s a bit older than me, and she was like, No. She had a good government job. She’s like, No, no, girl, no. And then finally, I think she ended up talking to her husband, and then he was like, No, you should do it. So then she was like, Okay, but only for a year. And I was like, Okay, just for a year. And then fast forward a year, I started to raise money, and so we came to it. And I was like, Okay, well, you know, it’s been a year. Like, thank you so much for being my co-founder. And she’s like, Oh no, I’m in it now. I was like, Oh, you believe now?

Kate 14:49
That’s a good testament for what you’re doing. Tell us a little bit more about the fundraising? Tell us about like a little bit more about that. Did you have to do a ton of pitches? Did you have to outreach to VCs? Just for people listening who want some like tactical advice.

Kameale Terry 15:07
Yeah, I mean I think the biggest piece was us getting customer contracts first. So I actually didn’t take in any venture capital until we had a customer contract. And so actually my first set of capital came from pitch competitions, and so I think we did about half a million through pitch competitions. So I would just like pitch all time, and that helped me out a lot. And then when we went out for the Series A, we had already proven out one that we could get clients. We had built out a platform, and then we were really going after this data, right? Like we really saw that there was an opportunity to bring data into the pipeline. We were launching this product called Reliability as a Service, which was a per station per month policy, where that’s where we’re underwriting the reliability. And I think that from there, what we were able to do really well was a series of really large deals and doing announcements around those deals. We also created something called an EV charger reliability report, and so you know we were already positioning ourselves just from a market perspective to be the leader in reliability. I think there’s very few people that know about O&M and reliability that doesn’t know about ChargerHelp in our industry, and I feel really proud about that. But that was very intentional because we were seeing the data, we did have something to say, we did have a meaningful solution, and most importantly, I didn’t think that the industry at the time was approaching this problem correctly. And so I think that like I spent a lot of time of educating the market, and with that came you know investors that wanted to connect with us and chat with us, which was very helpful. But all of it was really underneath this guise of like we’ve built something really dope. We have a unique perspective. There’s no one else solving this way, and you would be crazy not to get in on something like this. And that was kind of like the positioning that we had. But it was true, you know. Believe it 10 toes down, it was true. And so that helped a lot. So yeah, most of my investors came through warm introductions. You know, like thank God we didn’t have to do any like cold outreach. And then I just did a lot of like, there was like one spell. my co-founder and I are like always on a plane doing panels, just doing a lot of thought leadership work, just really showcasing that if you had $1 to put to work, like why wouldn’t you put it behind ChargerHelp? And that was kind of like the you know how we kind of came into market for fundraising.

Kate 17:23
Wow, super smart! I love how you focused on getting the customers and then announcing those big deals and then the thought leadership. That’s really savvy.

Kameale Terry 17:34
Oh, thank you.

Kate 17:35
Yeah, no, that’s great. So you know, you mentioned you started during a crazy time. A lot has changed around climate tech. Like, how has that been? Because that’s…has that been difficult?

Kameale Terry 17:50
I mean, we started the company underneath the same administration, so not much has changed.

Kate 17:56
That’s true, but there was a time there under Biden, right, where it was very different.

Kameale Terry 18:05
You know, honestly, I think that the most interesting thing that has evolved over the last six and a half years is the quality of the electric vehicle. Like when you look at the vehicle itself, whether it’s from a cost perspective, total cost of ownership, from a fleet operator, or just an experience perspective. Or even like the opposite of going to the gas station. Like you cannot tell me that anybody’s like, yeah, going to the gas station is like so awesome. Like I love the smell of gas, you know. Like I love getting my oil changed. Like that feels great. Like so, from an innovation technology perspective, you know, we finally moved on from like the ugly turquoise vehicle that the tree hugger loved. Now there are like beautiful, sexy vehicles out there that, and we’re starting to now get into a used car market, which now they’re going to start becoming more affordable. And so, to me, like that’s what I look at. You know, I think that there is a role for government to participate and help, especially for things that you know, if you care about the climate, but some people don’t, and that’s fine, that’s their business. But what I get excited about is that Americans, we love spending money, we like technology, we like innovation. My brothers were one of the first people in my community to get electric vehicles, and they didn’t get it. They don’t hate the environment, but it’s not like they care deeply about the environment. They bought their electric vehicles because they were cool.

Kate 19:29
Oh.

Kameale Terry 19:30
And you know what? That is okay with me. Would folks have bought an electric vehicle because it’s cool 10 years ago? No. I’ve been really excited to just see you know the new folks coming into market. The Slate vehicle. I was like, that’s so cool. I don’t know if you’ve seen the Slate cars. I really want one.

Kate 19:45
No.

Kameale Terry 19:46
Oh yeah, so you can customize them like down to…I will send you a picture. I share an investor with them with Slauson and Co. So I got to go to the unveiling of it. But there’s like all of these really neat vehicles coming into market that did not exist six and a half years ago. So yeah, like you can not want to incentivize climate stuff. You cannot believe in whatever, the environment, the world, you know, burning. You cannot believe in any of that. But you can’t tell me that the innovation that is coming into electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles isn’t something that’s interesting that the consumer would naturally gravitate towards. And I think like that is really cool.

Kate 20:28
That is such a good point. It has become cool. Like you’re right. If I just think about my neighbors, so many more people have electric cars. Like your brother.

Kameale Terry 20:37
It’s just a normal thing.

Kate 20:39
Yeah, it’s a thing. Yeah, and that alone is a good thing that it’s cool.

Kameale Terry 20:44
Oh yeah, yeah. So with the pullback of funding, but with the increase and like I think the private market doing its thing, I think we’re gonna be fine. And if you look at the global market, the U.S. we’re the only yeah lovely little country that thinks that this is a political thing. Everyone else just thinks of these types of vehicles as innovation, and it’s more simple.

Kate 21:06
Yes, you’re so spot on, and I feel too with the price of gas right now, more and more people are moving that way or to the hybrid or yeah. So that is exciting.

Kameale Terry 21:18
Yeah, and I’m at a point now when I rent a vehicle, I have to get electric. And another day I had a gas vehicle and I had to go to the gas station. I was like, This is so gross! I was like, Everything about this experience sucks. Like, what are we doing?

Kate 21:35
Yeah, you’re right. There’s really no better way to describe it than gross. Yeah, that is true. So, what about AI? Because AI has exploded too in those six plus years. Like, how are you leveraging AI? Everywhere I’m guessing.

Kameale Terry 21:54
I’m like, thank God for AI. Because when I started the company, I was like, we got to get data. Did not necessarily know what I was going to do with the data, but I was like, we got to get it. And mind you, this is 21, 22 Nobody was really talking about AI. I was just like, but we have to get it. And so now it’s incredible. We have, you know, now what we’re able to do is one, we can actually price reliability on the asset. So I have work order data. I have almost 100,000 work order assets that I’ve collected over almost seven years that are all organized in beautiful tables, and I can look at a software and hardware and be like, the service intensity on that asset is probably going to be X for the first year, Y for the whatever year, and they do their firmware like this. These are the problems that they usually have. Therefore, the pricing on that for a fixed rate, unlimited labor, unlimited fixes is this number. And I could not do that with it without being able to do large data models.

Kate 22:48
Of course.

Kameale Terry 22:48
And so for us, you know, we one of the things that my COO recently said, which I think is so true, it’s like, you know, we’re a seven year old company in like a two year old market, and for folks that try to come into this market now and compete with us, it’s like, okay. And I just tell my engineers, it’s just it’s a battle of like it’s a battle of our literal thought process and perspective in this space. And most people just build technology companies. We started with service. We started with the grinds. I tell people all the time we got hit in the face a lot of times, but it allowed us to build a technology product that not that’s not just another thing that somebody is signing into. It’s actually helpful and informed on real life experiences, and that’s the chef’s kiss. And it’s a beautiful moment for us to be able to do that with you know tools such as AI.

Kate 23:36
Wow, you’re right. You’re so well positioned. I would not want to be one of your competitors coming in.

Kameale Terry 23:42
I think competition is great. I tell people, I was like, “Come, come, come with me! It’s so fun.

Kate 23:48
Yeah. Where you’re sitting, it would be fun. Not every founder can look at it that way. That’s so awesome. Okay, we’re actually coming up on time, but you’ve shared so much. One of our and you shared a lot of advice, but our favorite question that we always end the show with is just other advice you can offer the startup founders listening. And we’ve heard everything from, you know, get a therapist to, you know, work out to you know, and then more specific things. But anything else, just because you, you seem, of all the founders I’ve interviewed, the most happy and the most like relaxed. Like you’re having a really, really good time. And a lot of founders I interview don’t seem like they’re having a good time, and you do. That’s like coming through this interview. How much fun you’re having!

Kameale Terry 24:41
Oh, thank you. Little piece of advice. I guess I don’t know. I just, I guess my only piece of advice is just like we have to build. Like there’s so like we have to build. I think that if you have the like gumption to build something, it is on us to bring forth a more whatever type of world you’re looking for, right? Like innovation is in us, yeah. And so, if you are lucky enough, that’s the one thing I think that people don’t understand. Not everybody has ideas. Not everybody can create. So, if you’ve been like given the opportunity to have an idea to bring something to life, my my God, like that is so beautiful. And to lean into it and honor it, and and it is something sacred to to bring something that didn’t exist before to life, and then to have other people to believe in you. That is, oh my gosh, like that is the most incredible thing I think as as a just like as a human. I don’t have any children, so that’s probably why. But I think like yeah, it’s this idea of bringing something to life is really dope, and I think that you can do that very in in a very neat way with building. So I say, people build, build, build, build. Yes.

Kate 25:47
Yeah, I think that’s really well said. Like, go for it if you’re feeling it. Go for it. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think you’re going to inspire a lot of people with this story and this interview because it’s scary, and you just your enthusiasm, your passion, your joy really comes through. So I think that will be inspirational. It sounds like you don’t have any regrets.

Kameale Terry 26:12
No regrets. And I guess the other thing that goes to that is just like it’s okay that it’s hard.

Kate 26:17
Yeah, I guess nothing like worth doing and fun is going to be super easy, right? Don’t you kind of enjoy the challenges at times.

Kameale Terry 26:24
When I get on the other side of it. I’m on the other side of the challenge right now, so I’m feeling great. In the challenge, I’m like ERR. But once you get to the other side, you’re like, man, that was great. But yeah, it’s a pain and it’s hard.

Kate 26:40
Yeah, that’s true. And probably all those challenges have helped, like with your learning and your iteration at ChargeHelp?

Kameale Terry 26:47
Yeah. And now you just know that there is another side.

Kate 26:49
Yeah.

Kameale Terry 26:50
And so, anytime I start getting bogged down, I’m like, this feels like a lot, but guess what? Nothing, no state lasts forever.

Kate 26:58
Yeah.

Kameale Terry 26:58
And so, like, okay, this too shall pass. That’s what my father, Selwyn Terry, would say.

Kate 27:03
I mean, I think you can anyone listening can also just use that in life, so that’s awesome. Thank you for that. Where can listeners go to find out more information about ChargerHelp?

Kameale Terry 27:13
Yes, I like to think of myself as a LinkedIn influencer with my little 10,000 followers. I don’t have a ton, but you know, I like to put my little thoughts out there. So you can follow me there, and then I also have an Instagram, which I share cute pictures of my nephew, which is also very helpful when you’re building to have a cute nephew. So those are the two places.

Kate 27:31
I love it. I love the nephew. I mean, that probably keeps you going too on those hard days.

Kameale Terry 27:36
Oh yeah, he’s the greatest.

Kate 27:39
How old is your nephew?

Kameale Terry 27:40
He’s gonna be two on August 1. It’s like every day he’s learning all of the things all at once. And now he’s talking, and he’s super cute. When it’s over, I’ll show you a picture.

Kate 27:52
That’s a that’s a fun age. Well, thank you so much for being here. I know you’re super busy, and you shared so much helpful advice and inspiration I gotta say, which I don’t say very often. So thank you.

Kameale Terry 28:05
Thank you so much for having me.

Outro 28:06
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